


Poof Goes the Gopher

by puffythepig



Series: My Muppets Fics [9]
Category: The Muppets (2011), The Muppets (TV 2015), The Muppets - All Media Types
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Animals, Cats, Cute, Drama, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Moving In Together, Moving Out, Pets, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28362054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffythepig/pseuds/puffythepig
Summary: Taking both of Walter's hands in his and staring at them, Scooter felt his heart quicken. "I want to live with you one day," He blurted out, swallowing before continuing, "only you. Without Ken. I'm not...saying that too soon, am I?"Widely smiling and shaking his head curtly, Walter started to lean in to kiss his partner when a sound from below the bridge startled him and sent him peeking. Gasping loudly, he pointed so Scooter's gaze would follow. The commotion under the bridge and overlooking the creek revealed a small black kitten hissing as a raccoon cornered it. Without any hesitation, Walter ran off the bridge and to the side of the creek, Scooter clumsily following behind him. Sliding down the creek, Walter glanced between the scene and Scooter, clasping his own hands together in thought."What should we do? We have to get that raccoon away from that poor cat!" He whined out, searching around for a way to distract the larger animal. Nearly frozen in fear, Scooter let out another gasp as Walter grabbed his black and gold fairy wand prop from the hem of his skirt and chucked it at the raccoon, causing it to hiss at him and scurry away.
Relationships: Scooter/Walter (Muppets)
Series: My Muppets Fics [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837657
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	Poof Goes the Gopher

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! I just wanted to say that this is a loose sequel to my other Wooter fic "Of Popcorn and Zombies"!   
> Also! There is some light animal cruelty in this. Nothing super graphic, no animal death or anything like that! The ending is happy!

Scooter wasn't sure how his life had changed so fast; it had been a year since Walter had officially joined the Muppets, seven months since they first kissed and started dating, and two months since Walter had moved in with Scooter, his mom, and the man Scooter loathed the most, and that wasn't him being dramatic; Ken.

Both Walter and Scooter were taking slow steps into their relationship, to soothe their anxieties about messing up their first serious relationship that became serious enough for them to live together. Despite Scooter having a twin-sized bed that could fit both felt men, Walter curled up on the Futon couch every night with Scooter sleeping in his own bed, though he occasionally would cuddle up with Walter after rough days at work, ignoring the flustered fireflies that would spring up in his stomach when he woke up the next morning.

Last night in particular had both of them shivering, and at some point the two ended up cuddling under a mountain of blankets, weaved together for warmth on the Futon. When the two finally awoke, it was to Walter's phone alarm blasting out Disco Frog and Ken yelling at them from the hallway that they needed to turn it off.

Pulling himself out of bed, Scooter hit the snooze button and was ready to dig himself back into the cocoon of blankets when the strong smell of pumpkin and cinnamon slithered under their door and into the room, sending Scooter's stomach rumbling. Coaxing Walter awake with a nudge and a sitting cuddle, the two decided it was time to begin their Halloween.

After making their way downstairs and indulging in the waffles that Scooter's mom had made, the two began chattering on like chipmunks about their plans that evening; the two had already decided that they were going to join the Electric Mayhem, Kermit, Fozzie, and Robin for trick or treating, both to join in on the nostalgia and to cheer up little Robin with their company while he was dealing with his parents divorce that year. Getting a big bag of candy was a plus.

When Ken heard the plans he laughed from the kitchen. "You two are really going trick or treating? Aren't you too old to mooch adults for candy?"

Scooter would roll his eyes if he could, but because of his inability as a muppet, he just stabbed at the last bite of waffle on his plate. "Yes, we are, Ken. Just because you're spending the day being bitter doesn't mean we have to."

Ignoring the rude comment at first, Ken just popped a piece of waffle into his mouth and stood at the dining room's entrance. "Actually, your mother and I are going to her company Halloween party. Nothing bitter about that. We're just having mature fun. As adults."

Scoffing and ignoring the third adult in the room's words, Walter glanced down at his Kermit the Frog watch. "Anyways, Scooter, how about we go rent a few Halloween movies from the Redbox down the street?"

Breaking into a smile, Scooter grabbed his and Walter's empty plate and headed into the kitchen, his boyfriend trailing behind. "That sounds perfect. We're gonna have way more fun than mom and Ken, anyways. Poor Mom gets stuck with Ken for Halloween, she's gonna be bored to death."

Snickering, Walter followed Scooter outside, gently linking their gloved hands and making their way down the street.

After searching through the Halloween section and finding almost nothing but slasher and thriller flix and exchanging mumbles at the sight of the ratings, the two finally decided on renting 'The Night Before Christmas' and 'Corpse Bride' as their choices. Hurrying home, the two curled up on the futon in their room and watched the two movies back to back, sharing a container of popcorn between them. As 'Corpse Bride' finally crawled to a stop and the credits poured onto the screen, a glimpse to his watch told Walter it was nearly 5pm.

"Oh geez, Scooter we better get ready now. Where did you set the costumes?" Walter lamented, the pair scrambling to their feet and around the room, gathering everything they needed. Within twenty minutes the two were in Scooter's car with their matching costumes on, ignoring the way the glitter they slapped onto their faces was already getting everywhere. As soon as the two pulled into Kermit's drive-way, they hopped out and met with the rest of the muppets they were trick-or-treating with, being greeted by laughs and sighs of relief.

"We were startin' to worry, man." Floyd said straightening his Velma glasses and tightening his arm on Janice's shoulders, who ran her fingers through her Daphne wig.

"Yeah, what took you two? Was it putting all the glitter on?" She pointed to where some of the mentioned make-up glitter was already starting to fall off Walter's face and onto his shoulders. 

Before he could answer, Zoot cut in, wiping his finger along Walter's shoulder and studying the glitter. "Hmm, where'd you guys get this stuff? Looks interesting." Ignoring how Zoot proceeded to lick the glitter and then smear his finger on his green Shaggy shirt, Walter pulled at Scooter's arm and held it in his.

"Oh, just the dollar store. Do you guys like our costumes?" Walter replied, pulling at the skirt of his Wanda costume while Scooter tugged at the side of his bright green Cosmo wig.

"Sure do, Walt. They're pretty groovy." Dr. Teeth gave the two a thumbs up before straightening his ascot and calling over Animal, who sat on the front door step of Kermit's home. Rushing outside, Robin ran over to the group to show off his costume as Kermit and Fozzie slowly trailed behind him.

"Do you guys like my costume? Uncle Kermit helped me make it! I'm being Boo from Monsters Inc this year!" He pointed up to the floppy antenna-eyes that adorned the purple costume. "I made my eyes out of ping pong balls."

"That's abso-positively cool, Robin. I'm diggin' those eyeballs." Dr. Teeth responded, flicking one of them back slightly so the hood of the costume didn't weigh down on the tiny frog's face.

"Thank you, thank you!" The frog cheered, turning back and looking at his uncle and his partner. "Can you guys hurry up please? I really wanna hurry up and get some candy!"

"Candy, candy!" Animal roared in agreement, with Kermit and Fozzie finally joining the group, with Fozzie straightening the plastic horns on top of his teal, purple-spotted hoodie and putting a gentle hand on the top of Kermit's back.

"Alright, is everyone ready?"

"Does everyone have a bag or bucket? Robin, where's yours?" Kermit cooed down to his nephew who gasped loudly and dashed into the house and returned a minute later, bouncing excitedly the entire time.

"We're ready, Uncle Kermit! Come on!" With Robin and Animal racing down the side-walk and the rest of the squad following behind, the group set off on their candy rendezvous.

Within ten minutes of skidding down the side-walk, Robin tripped and wailed for help and found himself perched on Fozzie or Kermit's shoulder for the remainder of the trick or treating session, shoving each piece of candy into his mouth almost as soon as he received it to cheer himself up. Another ten minutes passed and a woman with her kids passing beside the group stopped as one of her daughters looked up to Robin and seemed to recognize him.

As he realized who it was, Robin ducked his face as much behind Fozzie's sweatshirt hood as he could.

"Robin, why did you dress up as Boo for Halloween?" She snarled out, walking beside the group up to one of the houses. "There are so many boy costumes you could have chosen. You don't look good as a girl."

"I dressed as Boo because I like her... there's nothing wrong with me dressing as a girl...right, Uncle Kermit?" His last words came out a little more strained then he would have liked.

"Of course, Robin. I helped make your costume, didn't I?"

Scoffing at that, the rat mother tugged at her daughter's hand. "You actually helped your nephew dress as a girl? That's terrible. Little boys should--" before the woman could even finish her words, Animal started shouting and chasing her.

Chanting the word candy and chasing the parent down the street, the rest of the group just called after him and followed close behind. When they finally caught up he had taken a bite of the woman's purse and returned to Dr. Teeth's side as the rat huffed and walked away. Noticing that Robin was still upset by the comments from before, Kermit and Fozzie decided to take the young frog home, and soon the Electric Mayhem disbanded and went their separate ways home as well, leaving Walter and Scooter walking home, hands intertwined.

"Hey, Scooter?" Walter's voice came softly and Scooter glanced over his boyfriend's scrunched up face, causing his gut to sink.

"What is it?"

"You don't think that Ken will be home yet, do you?"

A sigh escaping his felt body, Scooter kicked at a rock on the ground. "I don't think so. I hope not. I don't know what his problem is with us. He never shuts up about wanting us to move out."

When Walter said nothing in return and the two rounded the corner of the block onto the little bridge leading onto their street, Scooter pulled his partner over to the side of the bridge, looking out at the sunset. "We could maybe, uhm, sit awhile before we go home, if you want."

Walter gave a sheepish smile as the two stared out at the orange and pink sky. "Scooter, what do you want for the future? For us?" He kept his voice in a whisper, ashamed at the way it quivered.

Taking both of Walter's hands in his and staring at them, Scooter felt his heart quicken. "I want to live with you one day," He blurted out, swallowing before continuing, "only you. Without Ken. I'm not...saying that too soon, am I?"

Widely smiling and shaking his head curtly, Walter started to lean in to kiss his partner when a sound from below the bridge startled him and sent him peeking. Gasping loudly, he pointed so Scooter's gaze would follow. The commotion under the bridge and overlooking the creek revealed a small black kitten hissing as a raccoon cornered it. Without any hesitation, Walter ran off the bridge and to the side of the creek, Scooter clumsily following behind him. Sliding down the creek, Walter glanced between the scene and Scooter, clasping his own hands together in thought.

"What should we do? We have to get that raccoon away from that poor cat!" He whined out, searching around for a way to distract the larger animal. Nearly frozen in fear, Scooter let out another gasp as Walter grabbed his black and gold fairy wand prop from the hem of his skirt and chucked it at the raccoon, causing it to hiss at him and scurry away.

Rushing to Walter's side, Scooter immediately found himself holding tightly to Walter's hands again. "We should've thrown something from the top of the bridge, Walter, not five feet away from the raccoon! You could've gotten hurt!" He fretted, trying to stop his voice from squeaking.

Walter only shook his head and tried to carefully approach the baby animal. "I was fine, Scooter..." Unscrunching his face, Walter knelt down to examine the black kitten, who arched her back and hissed at the muppet. With one swift motion, Walter reached forward and swiped the animal into his arms, swaddling her against him. "I'm more worried about this poor little baby anyways."

Huffing quietly at how his boyfriend shrugged off his worries, Scooter stepped cautiously to his side, peering down at the animal that looked tiny, even against Walter's arms. "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt. I'm not sure what we should do now. I don't think Mom would appreciate me bringing home a kitten."

"Do you think we could hide her? Just for tonight. Maybe we could bring her into work tomorrow and see if anyone can take her." Walter suggested, holding the kitten up carefully so she was peering right up at Scooter's face with her round green eyes. "Please? There's no way you can say no to her sweet little face."

"And I can't say no to yours either," Scooter sighed and couldn't help but release a small laugh, "she is really cute, isn't she?" After cooing to the feline for a minute, Scooter and Walter made their way back onto the top of the bridge. Within a minute Walter was hurrying home to warm the kitten while Scooter made his way to the dollar store, shoving everything he could think a kitten would need into his basket before returning to his house.

Stepping into his room, he tried not to sigh in content at the sight of Walter curled up on his futon with the kitten rubbing against his face. "I got her some stuff," He held up and revealed the three full bags, "not sure if I went overboard or not."

Walter laughed and sat up, making room for his boyfriend to sit on the other side of the curious kitten. "I thought we agreed to just keep her for the night, Scooter. I don't know if she needs twenty cans of cat food for one night."

Shrugging, Scooter held out his hand and let the animal sniff him. "Just in case she has to stay for a few days,, or maybe for longer if we're lucky. I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, though. Now uhm, what else do we need to do? We probably should make a vet appointment tomorrow, right? I've never had to do that before, Hopefully someone at the office can help. And I think I saw a commercial for cat heartworm medicine before. I wonder if she--"

Shushing his boyfriend momentarily with a kiss, Walter let out a small chuckle as he pulled away. "We can figure it out tomorrow. Let's just spend some time with her for tonight."

Nodding and thinking to himself how Walter kissed him when he was talking about heartworms, Scooter slid onto his side, watching with lovesick eyes as Walter copied the motion, gently petting the kitten inbetween them. In a few short minutes both were out like a light, and when Scooter woke the next morning it was to the sound of Walter cooing and kissing the kitten's head.

"I was thinking of names," Walter said instantly, causing the reality of the situation to return to Scooter, "what do you think about the name Poof? Because of our Halloween costumes yesterday and how poofy she is."

"I love it." Scooter yawned, reaching forward and scratching gently at the kitten's head before rolling out of bed and starting his day. Cradling her into a carrier, the two made their way to the front door of the house before Scooter's mom stopped them.

"What's with the pet carrier, boys?"

Freezing, Scooter cleared his throat. "Uhhh, my co-worker Rizzo wanted one to take naps in at work, and his birthday's coming up." He spat out, rushing out the door and into his car before she could offer a reply, Walter shrugging and scurrying after him. Once the two had made their way to the studio and into their cubicles, they decided that Poof would stay on Scooter's desk for the day. 

Upon seeing the carrier, Rizzo approached. "What's with the carrier thing, Scoots?"

"Oh nothing. Just a kitten that Walter and I found yesterday." Starting up his computer, Scooter ignored the loud laugh that escaped his co-worker.

"There's no way you actually brought a cat into work with ya, I don't believe it. You're too much of a scareddy cat yourself."

"It was Walter's idea."

"Oh, that explains it." Peeking into the carrier, Rizzo came face to face with the kitten. "Awh, it doesn't look too bad. Pretty cute when they're small like that." When the cat hissed, he let out a scream and ran from the cubicle, drawing attention to Scooter and his feline.

Trying his best to focus on his work, Scooter tried to turn his other co-workers away when they inevitably ended up at his desk, cooing and gasping at the creature in the cage, but it was no use. Currently, Rowlf was woofing quietly at the cat and attempting to have some sort of intellectual conversation with it while Janice gave him advice on how to care for her. As he copied the information down, Scooter let out a sigh, "Look, just no one tell Kermit that I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the mentioned frog popped up in the cubicle room. "Tell Kermit that you what, Scooter?" The frog sipped his coffee at the front of the room, unable to see into the mentioned gopher's cubby from his position.

"Oh, uhhhh, nothing, Chief."

"I don't trust that, Scooter. Wait, let me guess, did Bunsen and Beaker break the water cooler again in the name of science? I know you want to be nice but you really don't have to cover for them everyt-"As he rounded the corner and stopped in front of Scooter, his eyes falling on the cage, he scrunched up his face in apprehension. "What's in the carrier? Don't tell me someone brought in any more baby penguins. We're running out of space in the freezer room."

Running her fingers through her hair, Janice started to gravitate away from the conversation. "Like, I think I left my aura in the other room."

Clearing his voice, Rowlf did a bow and motioned to the carrier. "Sorry, did you want to talk to the cat?"

"Cat? Scooter, you brought a cat into work?" Kermit strained his voice and Rowlf took that as his chance to evade the confrontation.

"I'm sorry, boss, I really had no choice. She's just a kitten, and Walter and I could get kicked out if Ken finds out. We thought the safest place for her would be with us, at all times. At least until she's big enough to be safe alone somewhere."

Humming in concentration, Kermit opened the carrier and gazed in at the animal that cowered upon seeing someone staring at her. "Alright, but make sure you clean up after her while she's here...She is cute, isn't she?"

With a stronger stride in his step, Kermit left the room and Scooter let out a loud sigh, reaching in and petting Poof's head. "That went better than I thought it would. Now, you're probably ready for lunch, aren't ya?" 

Popping his head around the corner, Walter couldn't help but break into a smile. "I know I am. How about we take her into the break room? Fozzie brought in some donuts for everyone, and Zoot said he brought us some supplies while he was on break." Shrugging and joining his boyfriend's side, Scooter followed Walter into the break room. 

After a few weeks had passed and Poof was starting to grow more mischievous, resulting in a few broken vases at work, it was decided by Kermit that she would have to stay at home from that point forward. After begrudgingly leaving her at home for the first time and heading to work, Scooter and Walter returned to Ken sitting on the living room couch, his arms crossed.

"Since when have you had a cat?" He spat out, and Scooter groaned. 

"Leave us alone, Ken. She needs us." The orange muppet grunted, trying to stop his voice from quivering. When Ken was angry and raised his voice, he had that effect on Scooter. 

"You better have her out of the house in a week. I hate cats. You just wait until your mom is home, she's not going to be happy about this." 

"Well, we hate you," Walter whispered more to Scooter than anyone else, clinging to his boyfriend's arm as they made their way up the stairs, "you don't think your mom will make us get rid of her, do you?" 

Humming sadly, Scooter gave a shrug as they opened their door, "I really don't know. I didn't have pets growing up, so I'm not sure what she'll think." Walter whined quietly at that as the door to their bedroom swung open and Poof trotted over to them, rubbing against their legs. 

Curling up together with Poof purring loudly between them, the two muppets could only sit in silence at the terrifying thought that their furbaby could be taken away so quickly. Exhausted from work, the two slipped into a nap and awoke to Scooter's mom sitting on the floor of their room, stroking Poof and cooing at her. 

"I thought something was going on when I saw empty cans of cat food in our trash. She's precious. How long have you been hiding her?"

Sitting up and straightening his shirt up, Walter cleared his throat. "We found her Halloween night. She was being chased by a raccoon." 

"Awh, the poor baby. I'm glad you saved her." Sneezing and standing up, the mother headed to the doorway. "Anyways, we're having pizza for dinner." With that, she stepped out of the room and Walter and Scooter shared an excited expression, ending with Walter hugging at his boyfriend's shoulders and kissing him swiftly before hopping out of the bed and rushing over to their cat and picking her up, kissing the little tuff of fur at the top of her head, earning confused mews. 

Scooter joined his boyfriend's joyful cuddles before making his way to the dinner table, trying to push away the fear that Ken would still mess this up somehow. 

"You know, I like the idea of you two having cats. It's not the same as grandkids, which I still hope to have one day," she tilted her cup to Walter and Scooter, earning a flustered exchange of chuckles from them, "but I do really like cats." With those words, she sneezed again. Scooter kept his eyes flickering between his own food and his mother, whose poor sneezes grew in number to the point that she decided to go and lay down after finishing one measly slice of pizza. Over the next few days, the sneezes and now the coughs only increased in number, and the clues started to fit together in Scooter's head. 

She was allergic. 

And as much as he loved his little Poof and how much happiness she brought everyone around her, especially Walter, a pain in the back of his mind told him there was only one option; she needed a new home. Still, he didn't want to break Walter's heart, so a race to find a home where they could still visit her began.

Before he could find one, the two returned one day to a home with no cat, with only Scooter's mom sitting on the couch, hugging at her own arms. 

"Mom...where's Poof?" 

The other orange muppet in the room sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, baby. Ken said he dropped her off somewhere while I was at work, and he won't tell me where." she sniffled a little, both because of her lingering allergies and the guilt she felt that her boyfriend would hurt her family so badly, even if he claimed it was to help her. "I've tried calling him several times now, but he's in a meeting." 

Scooter reached his hand gently over and grabbed Walter's, feeling it shake like a dying autumn leaf. "Don't worry, Mom, we'll find her." He gave his mother a quick hug before turning towards the door and hurrying out, Walter running with him. 

Within twenty minutes, a few of their co-workers had joined them to help search for the cat. Knowing the air was starting to get colder, the two kept their eyes especially peeled, both carrying flashlights. When the snow started to fall, Walter couldn't help himself and started to shake again, sobs wracking his body. Leading his boyfriend away from the other muppets, Scooter headed towards the bridge they had found her underneath several weeks ago and sat down, pulling Walter down with him, their legs dangling underneath it. Wrapping his arms around his lover, Scooter rested his forehead against Walter's and tried his best to be soothing.

He had never seen Walter cry like this before. There were a few times when he would feel alone and cry for his brother late at night, and all Scooter could do was sit beside him until the feelings passed. From the stories he heard from Walter, his only close friend growing up was Gary, and not once since they had found Poof had Walter cried over him. Scooter was almost positive that having Poof around really made Walter feel less homesick and lonely, and her being gone made Scooter's felt stomach twist into knots. 

"What if we don't find her, Scooter? What if she gets hurt, or, or worse? I feel like this is all my fault!" Walter wailed out, and Scooter could only keep his arms tightly wrapped around his boyfriend's shoulders, trying to stop himself from sniffling. He desperately wanted to be strong enough to not cry and make Walter feel worse right now, but it was hard not to want to cry right now. 

"I'm sorry, Walter, I don't know what to do," Scooter murmured the truth and let himself start to cry, his shoulders heaving as the two clinged to each other, not hearing the little sound of a bell jingling behind them until a squall of a cat turned them around. 

"POOF!" Walter hollered, reaching his arms out as the familiar cat let out little cries and hopped into her owner's arms. "Scooter, she's, she's okay! She's all wet, but she's okay!" He cried out, and Walter's crying changed from being of sorrow and fear to pure excitement. As Walter stood up holding her tightly to his chest and slipping out of pure excitement, Scooter could only sigh inwardly in relief and laugh loudly, standing up as well and helping Walter to his feet, their cat shivering in Walter's arms. 

"We better get her home and get her all cleaned up, and as for Ken," Scooter watched as Walter stopped laughing immediately and shivered at the sound of the man's name,   
"I've got some choice words for him." Walter gave a curt nod as the two hurried to their friends and called the search party off before making their way home, holding tightly to each other for warmth as the snow started to pour down. 

As the two stepped into the doorway, Scooter's mom stood up and smiled at the sight of her son and who she thought of as her son-in-law holding their cat. "I'm so glad you're both alright, it was starting to storm," She hugged them both at the same time, turning her eyes down to little Poof, who mewed and demanded her fair share of attention, which she happily gave in the form of pets. "and you found your furbaby! My heart would have broken if you couldn't find her. I know how much she means to both of you. Now, she looks like she's all cold and dirty. How about you two go give her a bath and warm her up?" 

The two agreed and skidded up the stairs and after warming their kitty up they went to their room, curling up with her as she dried off, taking turns kissing her little head and comforting the annoyed feline. When the bedroom door swung open and revealed Ken, both men stood up from the bed, standing in front of their pet. Ken stepped forward and Scooter followed the motion with a hovering huff. "Look, Ken, I know that Mom's allergic, I'm not dumb, but that doesn't mean you can just drop our cat off!"

"What? I dropped that stupid cat off after it scratched my arm up!"

Shaking in irritation, Scooter balled up his fists and knew that if he had teeth, they would be grating together right now. "You're lucky that it wasn't me, or you wouldn't have an arm anymore!"

Rolling his human eyes, Ken leaned down to be at eye-level with Scooter. "You know, I could always take her and drop her off again. I'm going to keep doing that as long as she's here." 

Glancing back to where Walter turned and held desperately to little Poof, vibrating in spot, Scooter felt his own chest heave as he heard Ken laugh.

"What? Are you gonna cry or be a man and get o-" Before Ken could finish his words, Scooter lifted up both of his fists and started to punch at the man's face, yelling as he did so. 

"If Poof has to go, we're going with her!" He shouted, pulling his fists back and hurrying over to Walter, grabbing at one of his hands, the other holding up Poof, racing out of the bedroom and down the stairs, unsure of why he was walking down the stairs other than for dramatic emphasis. Once he was in the living room, he sat Walter down on the couch and sat himself beside him, still visibly shaken with frustration when Walter turned towards him, cupping his boyfriend's face and smushing their lips together and pulling apart only to cuddle his head onto his lover's shoulder. 

"You were amazing, Scooter but," he pulled back briefly, "are you really sure you want to move out? So suddenly?" 

The words 'move out' seemed to summon Scooter's mom, who dropped a plate of cookies on the living room floor. She dashed over to the two, sitting beside them. "Scooter, you two are moving out? When did you decide this?" Her voice trembled and a shot of guilt filled the orange muppet's gut, but he sighed and hugged his mother tightly. 

"I have to, Mom. I can't risk Ken dropping off Poof again. He made Walter cry doing that, and if I can prevent my boyfriend being sad, I've got to do that... And even then, you've been sneezing a lot, and I don't want you to be miserable all the time for me!" He pulled away, smiling at his mother, the woman who had raised him and his sister alone for years, and now was having to let her baby find his own way in life. He couldn't imagine quite what she was feeling, but if it was anything like the mix of pride and fear in his stomach, he knew it wasn't easy to face, but it was necessary. "But I promise I'll come and visit, and we won't move very far! It'll be nice to be a little closer to work, anyways."

Squeezing her son's shoulders and letting her own shoulders relax, she couldn't help but smile widely at him. "Let me help you pack?" 

Agreeing, he followed his mother up the stairs yet again, with Walter trailing close behind, still carrying Poof as if she were a baby. 

Spending a few days packing, Scooter announced that they were searching for an apartment at work, and right away they received several recommendations, ending up choosing the apartment that was right next to Fozzie's, only a block away from the studio. 

Every step of the moving process was stressful and new to both Scooter and Walter, and having the smaller muppet ask him several times if he was sure he wanted to do this didn't help Scooter's nerves, and he tried not to let this slip, but when Kermit asked him into his office to ask if he was doing alright, he couldn't help but vent. He told Kermit about how he was really struggling being away from home and in their new apartment, and that because of work and their nerves, neither Walter or Scooter had been able to unpack much of their possessions at all. After he was dismissed to his cubicle, Scooter thought that was the end of the conversation until him and Walter returned home that night to several of their co-workers waiting for them, a full burrito station prepared in the kitchen. Ignoring the mess that was brewing by the Swedish Chef's realistic hands, the two started to unpack with their friends speeding up the process, and by the strike of 10:30 pm, everyone was crowded around and watching some early Christmas special on the television and stuffing hastily made burritos into their felt mouths. After Poof stole the tortilla from both Gonzo's and Zoot's plates and gobbled it down in the corner of the room, the group decided it was time to start dispersing.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Fozzie reached over on the night stand and handed Scooter a letter, "I think this is for you. It got sent to me by accident." 

Curiously Scooter flicked the letter on its side and read where his new address was scribbled, scooting closer to Walter and showing him the chicken-scratch handwriting, recognizing it right away. "Oh, it's from Skeeter!" Flicking the card open that featured the crossed-out words 'Happy Second Birthday' on the front in bubble letters, Scooter couldn't help but smile at the contents. A ten dollar bill and a photo of Skeeter with her girlfriend Summer popped out, which Scooter held with one hand while he propped the letter up with the other. "She uh, said some interesting words about Ken and wished us well." Flustered, he shut the card and slid it back into the envelope, thanking his friends yet again. 

After letting their friends take some of their leftovers, Scooter and Walter curled up together on the tiny couch in their living room, sharing a chaste kiss before Poof popped up in-between them, nuzzling at their chins and trying to coax pets out of them. 

"Hey, Scooter?"

"Hm?" Scooter leaned to the side slightly, letting Walter push him back further until he was laying on the couch on his back with Walter and Poof on top of him. "What is it?" 

"I'm proud of you."

Laughing at the words, Scooter shook his head. "What do you mean?" 

"I know this wasn't easy... leaving your mom, I mean. And standing up for Poof, standing up for me..." Walter shrugged and looked at the television to avoid the attention that was pointed directly at him. 

Scooter hummed in thought. "Yanno, as hard as it was leaving my mom, I'm happy I did it. I mean, now we can be alone all the time. It's kinda nice," he coughed awkwardly and leaned down, stroking Poof's little chin, "and as for standing up for you guys, it happened so quickly that I wasn't even thinking about it, really. I'm happy I punched Ken though, that felt so satisfying. I think any holidays might be awkward now, though." Walter let out a little laugh and Scooter squeezed at his shoulders. "And I'm proud of you, too." 

"For what...? I feel like I didn't do anything helpful. I mean, I broke down crying when she was lost, I didn't stand up for you, and I wasn't very helpful." Walter sighed the words and Scooter sat up jut enough to make Walter look at him. 

"Don't say that, Walter. You're my rock. You've always been strong when I couldn't be. It was just time I repaid that. And I know moving away from Smalltown couldn't have been easy for you, and you still did it. You really inspire me to be brave, even when it's hard. And yanno... I don't know if we would even have Poof now if you hadn't stood up for her when I was too scared to. Without you, we probably would still be at home, listening to Ken complain about everything we do..." Scooter lamented, letting himself lay back down with Walter laying his neck downwards on his lover's chest. 

"I love you, Scooter." Walter whispered, his puppety chest pounding. This was the most serious relationship he had since... well, forever, after all, and he still struggled with understanding the social cues or if it was considered too early into their relationship to say the three sacred words, especially when they both agreed to take things slow, but he couldn't help saying them. 

"I love you more." Scooter whispered back, feeling a giddy rush in his chest as he leaned his neck forward and kissed Walter before slumping backwards, staying in the comfortable position until they both fell asleep, with Poof curled up comfortably by their legs.


End file.
